The Witherlands
The Witherlands is the largest Kingdom in Marin. Situated farthest to the North, it is capped off by ‘the abyss’, where the known world ends and no one has dared venture before. The Witherlands is considered the harshest and most unforgiving Kingdom in all of Marin, due to its never ending winters, ominous beasts that roam the lands, and overall uninhabitable environment. Mountain ranges surround the Kingdom and make it difficult to navigate and travel, along with thick and dense pine forests to make it seem like the journey never ends. Due to its overwhelming conditions, The Witherlands does not have much land to farm and grow fruits and vegetables on. Farmers are rare and usually end up going out of business due to the poor produce put on offer from the barren soil. The Kingdom, however, does deal heavily in exporting materials necessary for weaponry, their mines produce a lot of iron, tin and copper. And the vast amount of pine forests are used to chop down timber and lumber. The Witherlands is the only Kingdom to worship the Frozen Gods; nameless, faceless deities that control the events of everything, so the Witherlanders believe. Out of all the faiths in Marin, the least is known about the Frozen Gods, and it appears foreign and alien to outsiders. It is said the priests of the Frozen Gods can hear their whispers and commands in the snowfalls. The ultimate prophecy of the Frozen Gods is believed to be the coming of the Ice Age, where the cold winters will creep down further, and further across the world, and freeze even the Deep South, to preserve everything for eternity, and find their mythical ‘Chosen One’. The Chosen One is believed to the Frozen God’s chosen warrior, whom can survive the Ice Age and guard their preserved lands, forever. Regions of the Witherlands The Witherlands is comprised of six main regions. Southernmost, at the border of the Witherlands is Reaper’s Skull, ruled by House Vivayn from their ancient seat of Wingsway, where they serve as gatekeepers into the Kingdom. To the west is Binding Point, ruled by House Syreth from their seat of River of Three, where they are one of the main port towns in the entire North. In centre of the Kingdom is Great Walk, vast open reaches of land, perhaps the easiest to navigate, ruled by House Torck of Snowhall. Farthest to the North, is the Ash Fields, which earned its name from the battle of Ice and Fire hundreds of years ago, which is Ruled by the Carters themselves. Disappearing east into the forests is the Iron Plaines, ruled by House Barrmount from the seat of the same name. Off the coast to the North East is a Duchy and Island known as the Crakefall, still under dominion of the Carters. The Crakefall is ruled by House Demott, from their seat of Thunder Break. About House Carter The Witherlands has been ruled by House Carter for thousands of years. The seat of House Carter is also the capital of the Witherlands, known as Grand Stead. One of the most formidable castles in the world, with high, strong walls located atop Mount Bliss, or “The Snow Leopard’s Den” as the common folk refer to it as, in reference to the Carter’s sigil. The Carters are derived as cold, unforgiving and utterly merciless, much like the land they rule, as well as being strong leaders, with great military tact, and skilled, lethal warriors, with the Rulers having to obtain a Knighthood before even being considered in the line of succession. The Caters are famous for their cold blue eyes, with very few people in all the Kingdoms wanting to be at the end of one of their glares. Typically, Carter men are known for being tall, with a muscular build and broad shoulders, where as the women are fairer, with small waists, and petite build. The Carters were formerly known as Kings in the Witherlands, but Prince Mycah Carter renounced them as such after the battle of Fire and Ice, during the peak of the rivalry between House Skyfyre and Carter. At that point, the Carter Kings had become increasingly cruel and ruthless, adopting many unsavoury traditions and practices, including incest. In the battle, King Caelan the Callous was slain by Lord Arsten Skyfyre, the Bleeding Star. However the numbers of the Carter army overwhelmed the Skyfyres, capturing Arsten. Ultimately, it was pyrrhic victory, as they lost their last King. When they looked to Mycah to execute Arsten, he refused, and freed him, along with denouncing himself, and all the Carters after him as Kings, giving up their brutal traditions and practices in the process. From then on, they became known as Lord Rulers. Recent Events in the Witherlands After one of the most bloody battles in Marin history concluded, The Ice Lord Marshall Carter remained as Lord Ruler of the Witherlands after defeating his turncoat younger brother, Felix. In the finale of the Brother’s Rebellion, Marshall spared Felix, but left him to bleed out, leaving his fate unknown. The Ice Lord assumed his post, without any true family left. Keeping Felix’s son and wife as a hostage. Meanwhile, Nathaniel Vivayn, Lord of Wingsway married Kierra Demott, sister to Chaol Demott, the Duke of the Crakefall and niece of Marshall Carter. Felix Carter ultimately survived the encounter and returned to Grand Stead to claim his family back. This led to yet another duel between the brothers which was interrupted by a crisis call from the Crakefall. Nathaniel Vivayn and his forces attempted to besiege Thunder Break and threatened to flay Kierra alive if Chaol did not surrender the fortress to him. Marshall and Felix fought together to fend off the Vivayn forces. Nathaniel, now the most wanted man in the Northern half of the continent, plots for war against House Carter. Nathaniel breaks into the new Kingdom of Astoria with a skeleton crew to uncover the corpse of Prince Mikhail and takes it back to Wingsway. With the help of the dark arts, Nathaniel manages to resurrect the Prince to hold him for ransom for Grand Duchess Anyanka Durkhan’s army, to aid him against the Carters. The Astorian Guard manage to successfully retrieve the Prince. Nathaniel sends a hunting group after them. Marshall undecided on what to do with Felix, calls for the banners loyal to House Carter, readying for war. Felix offers to go on a suicide mission with the deadliest killers in the world, to Wingsway, to retrieve Kierra and kill Nathaniel, instead of anymore unnecessary bloodshed. Category:Kingdoms